My students have long produced superb pieces of research that have taught me so much. Especially in food studies, I feel that there is still much work to be done, and my students’ voices would fill an unmet need for accessible, provocative, and relatable scholarship. On this site, I would like to introduce just some of the work my students are doing. It is by no means comprehensive, and I will be updating regularly. I have categorized the scholarship in several broad categories below.
Asian-American Foodways
https://twatanabe.wescreates.wesleyan.edu/asian-american-foodways-forum/
(The above is in incomplete, future website created for me by Megan Bauerle. Eventually, I hope to have all the papers uploaded there.)
Japanese Food
Japanese Foods and Innovations
Suntory and Nikka: Japanese Whiskey as Wakon Yōsai by Adam Ettelbrick (2019)
Japanese Snacks: A Tasting and Reflections on their Cultural Implications, by Sophie Scobell and Emily Young (2021)
Japanese Foods and Health Benefits
Nattō’s Nutritional and Epigenetic Health Benefits by Ben Lynch (2019)
Japanese (Asian) Food Abroad
Is “Gourmet” Food Writing Exempt? : An Exploration of Japanese Culture in Saveur Magazine, by Simon van Baaren, 2020.
Japanese Cuisine in Kazakhstan: Non-Japanese Ethnic Networks as Main Facilitators of Culinary Culture, by Mikoto Nakamura, 2020.
Country Club Sushi: An Exploration of the Gentrification of Japanese Cuisine in Minnesota by Maxwell Maveus (2022)
Takoraisu: A Case Study in Okinawan Hybrid Identity by Justin Weinstein (2022)
An Exploration of Cheesecake by Neeky Yassari (2021)
Gender in Cooking and Eating Japanese Food
Changing Perceptions: How Wakako zake is Fixing Gender Stereotypes in Anime, by Shakeel Jessa, 2020.
Problematizing “Japanese Mothers and Obentōs: The Lunch-Box as Ideological State Apparatus,” by Alice Swan, 2021. (External link)
Representations of Japanese Cuisine in Media
Changing Perceptions: How Wakako zake is Fixing Gender Stereotypes in Anime, by Shakeel Jessa, 2020.
Buddhism in Japanese Cuisine
Two Truths and a Lie: Buddhist Food Today — a Cooking Project, by Ella Biehn, May 2021.
Japanese Aesthetics, Literature, and Culture
The Philosophy of Wabi Sabi Illustrated Through Photographs, by Quentin Rollet, 2021.
Hōjōki v. 2021, by Riho Kawamoto, 2021.
How Yokai Adapts to Modern Societies: Differences in Yokai Interactions with Technology and Humans, by Zaitian (Cara) Chen (2022)
April at Wesleyan, by Will Schenck (2022)
East Asian Cultures
East Asian Cuisines
An Exploration of Authenticity, Trendiness, and Stereotyping Through “Exotic” Cuisine, by Robi Frederick, 2020.
Asian Aesthetics
Garment Making Like Guo Pei: From Sketch to Stitch, by Anton Vasel-Roku Lulgjuraj (2022)
“Chinese” on the Skin: Outside the Homeland, Finding Oneself Through Pain, by Felice Li (2022)
Confucianism
Examining Contemporary South Korean Confucianism: A Self Reflection, by Minji Kang (2022)
The Rise and Fall of Confucius Institutes in America, by Jack Johnston (2022)